Tugging On My Heartstrings
by FishInAFadora
Summary: Tug meets a beautiful mare, and much to Will's annoyance, won't let her go. Tug is acting differently, and it frustrates the bond between them. Things get interesting when there's a rival stallion who's also interested in the mare, and sinister horse thieves lurking in the shadows.
1. Chapter 1: Lark

**Thought this would be a nice one-shot and I pretty much couldn't sleep last night, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. Some credit must go Snow Leopard2468 because she/he mentioned the idea to me, so be sure to mention her/him in your review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own ranger's apprentice and neither does Snow Leopard2468**

** Chapter 1: Lark**

It was a beautiful summer day, and Will was enjoying it. Life was as calm as a millpond in Redmont, yet with peace also came boredom. Will was still young, but so much excitement, adventure, and danger had already happened in his life. It didn't feel right to go back to everyday tasks of practicing archery, silent movement, and reading reports. Sure he patrolled the fief regularly, but bandits, thieves, and highwaymen, learned long ago that they won't have much luck in Redmont. But he patrolled the fief anyway, because Halt's lessons were embedded in him.

The forest ended, and fields of crops began. Will was pretty far from castle Redmont, but the solitude felt great. In the distance, he could see a horse farm. The farm had its own herd of horses, and the owners raised, weaned, and broke them, so on market day they could sell them. Sometimes if the horse is big enough, the horsemaster will buy from them to train for battle. Will always enjoyed passing by, seeing the diverse coat colors and markings of the horses.

Among the horses was a new one, a mare by the looks of it. She was very pretty palomino paint, with long legs, and soft brown eyes. She nickered to Tug as they passed her.

Tug came to an abrupt halt, making Will jerk forward in the saddle. He stood completely still, ears and eyes turned to the mare. He seemed transfixed by her.

"Tug, what are doing?" Will asked, confused by Tug's behavior. The little horse usually flicked his ears in the direction of his master's voice, but the ears didn't twitch from their frozen position. His nostrils flared, taking in the smell of the mare.

And before Will knew what was happening, Tug trotted off the road and towards the fence, "Whoa Tug!" Will squeezed his legs and pulled back on the bit, but if Tug didn't want to go, then there's no point in stopping him.

The mare trotted up to the fence, interested in this shaggy pony. They nuzzled noses, taking in each other's scent, much to the confusion of Will. Tug stretched his neck so that he could reach her withers, for mutual grooming.

Just before he could reach, an angry squeal broke the peaceful silence, making the mare shied away from Tug in fear. A huge dun stallion came charging from the far side of the field, ears flat and teeth bared. Will tried to pull Tug back, but his horse stood his ground, unfazed by the intimidating beast.

A movement caught his eye, and Will spotted a girl burst from the house, who started running toward the stallion. He watched in amazement as she planted herself in front of the charging horse, waving her arms. The stallion skidded to a stop, and reared, trying to scare the girl away. But she didn't move, only whispered soothing words and offered an apple to the riled horse. The dun took it, chomping with delight, but keeping his eyes glued on Tug., and his ears were still flat.

When the girl felt that the stallion had calmed down, she turned to Will, "I'm sorry about that, but Spur is the boss of the herd, and he doesn't like other males getting to close to his mares. It's in his nature to react that way," she said, nervously.

Will shook his head, "No need to apologize, it was Tug. He's never acted like this before, and we've passed your farm more than once."

The girl sighed with relief, and Will guessed that it was the fact that he was a Ranger, and farm folk made a point to not anger a Ranger. "The mare over there is Lark. She's new and we're going to breed her with Spur, so maybe we can get some nice foals for the Horseschool. Your horse seems to like her. I'm Abigail Rivera, by the way."

Will looked her over. She had strong arms and legs, probably from the heavy work of horses. Her hair was cut short and curly, light brown and grey eyes. Dirt smudged her skin, and her pants were torn at the knees.

"Will Treaty," he replied, "Well sorry for the trouble. You have a nice day." He squeezed Tug's sides to get him going. Tug reluctantly complied, his strict training making him obey his master.

"Nice meeting you," Abigail said, and then she started walking back to the house. Spur nudged Lark towards the herd, and the mare looked on at the disappearing pony. She let out a longing whinny, and then yielded to the boss stallion's wishes.

**Please review, i know it's not a lot but this isn't going to be a long story that pulls out forever. Here's a question for you to consider: Does FishInAFadora mean a fish wearing a fedora, or a fish swimming in a fedora? ****Let me know what you think cause the question is driving me insane. ;) Also it was Snow Leopard2468 who came up with idea for the name Lark. (just thought i mentioned that i don't want to hog the spotlight.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Conversation and Stew

**Finally I have some freetime and it's highly inactive freetime...so enjoy the update!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ranger's apprentice...enough said.**

** Chapter 2: Conversation and Stew**

After the rather interesting patrol of Redmont fief, Will got back to the cabin as dusk was falling. He untacked and groomed Tug, who still seemed to be in a daze. Will took out an apple from the barrel next to the stall, and held it out to the shaggy horse. Tug, never one to turn down an apple, chomped on it, but still looked as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Well your acting a bit strange," he muttered.

Surprisingly, Tug didn't respond, or in any way that Will could interpret a response. The horse just seemed to give a big sigh and turned towards the hay Will had put down for him. After staring at Tug for a few seconds, Will walked out of the stable and into the cabin. Halt was already there, enjoying a warm fire and a hot cup of coffee.

"Hello Halt," Will said a little surprised, but delighted to see his former mentor. "What are you doing here?"

"Pauline had an unexpected assignment that sprang up," Halt replied. "It's a good thing you finally arrived."

"Why? Are we going on a mission?" Will asked excitedly.

"Well you are because, it requires your expertise," Halt replied evenly.

Will almost shouted, "Well don't beat around the bush, tell me about it!" He was brimming with excitement. Finally he thought, something to break the monotone of normal life! Something to stir adrenaline in his blood. Something-

"You're being sent to the kitchen, and your to gather carrots, peas, onions, celery, fresh venison, some spices, and a pot of boiling water," Halt finished, his face deadpan.

Will seemed to stand frozen to the spot for a full minute, then he marched off to the kitchen, mumbling colorful phrases under his breath.

The delicious scent of the stew wafted across the cabin, making both the Ranger's stomachs grumble. Will served a bowl of the stew to Halt then went back to the kitchen for some coffee. Soon they were both sitting around the fire, sipping and slurping hungrily.

"So where have you been?" Halt asked as he finished his dinner.

"Just patrolling the fief," Will replied distractedly. "Something weird happened today."

Halt quirked an eyebrow and Will filled him in on Tug's sudden behavior change, how he started nuzzling the mare, when the stallion started charged them, and his conversation with Abigail. When he finished, they sat in silence for a while, Will letting Halt think things over.

Finally, Halt asked, "Did you look him over?"

Will nodded, "I did that while I was untacking and grooming him. I couldn't find anything that's wrong."

Halt seemed to think some more then said, "Well the problem is quite obvious."

Will waited for Halt to elaborate, but he just kept sipping his coffee, happy to leave his former apprentice hanging there on a limb. Will couldn't help but fidget and shift uncomfortably in his chair, Halt keeping the pressure on him, watching him squirm with a straight look on his face.

Will couldn't help it any longer, "Well what is it?" he shouted.

"You seriously can't figure it out?" Halt replied, his face straight as an experienced gambler's in a tavern, who knew he was going to collect the winnings but kept it revealed until the last moment.

Will made a gesture that could be loosely translated to, _alright I give up can you just tell me already? _Halt was in the mood tonight of playing pranks on his former apprentice. _Gilan must be rubbing off on him,_ Will thought.

Halt tossed his coffee dregs into the fire then stated simply, "He's in love."

Tug couldn't stop pacing in his stall, for he was as nervous as a hunted deer. Abelard poked his head over the door of his stall, wondering what was troubling his friend. He pricked his ears as if to say, _what's up with you? _Tug replied by looking out the entrance of the stable, and into the clear night.

_I want to see her,_ he nickered to Abelard. The older horse looked doubtful.

_That could be risky_, he said. _You've never been out alone at night._

_ I can take care of myself, _Tug replied, and Abelard knew he could. _Please? I just want to see her._

Abelard gave a big, horse-like sigh, remembering the time when he was a young colt, and he would whinny to his beautiful filly in the pasture next to his. That was one regret that he couldn't let Tug have.

Without much more thought to it, Abelard flipped the latch that held Tug's door in place. Tug pushed it open and trotted out of the stable.

_Just be careful_, Abelard nickered quietly to him. And Tug went off, as quietly as Ranger horse was trained to be, into the dark forest in the direction of Lark.

**Looks as if this is not a one-shot any more. Oh well thats no big deal! I hoped you enjoyed the update and I would appreciate the review. I'd love it if you reviewed! :) just a question too ask, was halt out of character?**


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